100 things about me- idea stolen from Liana's Blog and changed to 80, because it REALLY is hard.

1. In 16 days, I marry my best friend, Slim Gillian.
2. I went to public school from Pre-K until 9th grade
3. I graduated from Faith Heritage School in Syracuse NY, which is a Christian school on the south side of the city.
4. I prayed to receive Christ as my Savior at age 7, laying on my bed, one night.
5. My parents are wonderful people and are still together.
6. My dad runs a business with my mom's brothers.
7. my mom taught school for over 30 years and now teaches homeschoolers.
8. I majored in Elementary Education with concentrations in Pysch and Spanish
9. I lived in Lambein and East Halls at Houghton. I wanted to break the stereotypes. HA.
10. The HAMs were the best part of my college career.
11. I always finished my garbage plates at Nick Tahous, and I liked them.
12. I would go back to Houghton at any moment, as long as I could have donuts on Donut Night.
13. I miss the smell of the first snow.
14. I love the beach more than I miss that smell.
15. I work less than 5 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico.
16. Missions has always been important to me. I spent two weeks and a weekend at NYSUM (New York School of Urban Ministry)in NYC helping homeless people.
17. I have worked with CRAVE student ministries for the last 4 years.
18. Myself and the two Todds brought students to do missions in Rio, where I got to teach English to Brazillian students.
19. I would kill for Cafe Amici.
20. I lived in Long Island, and taught there for a year after I graduated from Houghton.
21. Cheese is my favorite food- all types.
22. My favorite genre of food is Mexican. I could eat chips and salsa, all day, everyday!
23. I have a nephew named Brayden James and I would consider him one of my best friends.
24. My niece is named Grace Lea Ann, and I am so excited to see her grow up into a young woman who loves the Lord.
25. My brother and sister-in-law are adopting Henry Davis (who they will call Davis) from Liberia.
26. Slim and I have the best dog, ever. Sir Dudetronicsita.
27. I taught school for 4 years, and now take care of Seniors at Home Instead Senior Care.
28. I am a middle child. One girl between two boys.
29. I have always wanted to write children's books.
30. I could listen to Slim play the guitar forever. I think that he is the best that I have ever heard, he says that I haven't heard that many.
31. Carly Jo and Kevin John Jones are dear friends who understand Slim and me.
32. I have a problem sleeping.
33. I love Tiffany, but understand that sometimes I have to live on a budget.
34. Shopping for other people makes me happy.
35. 3 of my grandparents died when I was in the 5th grade, but my dad's mom, Carmella is still alive, and is an amazing lady.
36. When I was younger, my cousin Melinda used to come and spend time during the summer, and we used to 'paint the bushes green'. Not really, but we wanted to.
37. I love the Finger Lakes.
38. Central New York has the best food in the world. I could kill for a coney with spicy mustard and some salt potatoes.
39. I wish I was better at keeping in touch.
40. I love nice stationary.
41. I can't wait to be a mom.
42. Slim is going to be an amazing father (this one isn't really about me)
43. Vanilla soft serve with sprinkles will make me the happiest girl in the world.
44. I feel blessed to be part of Summit Church.
45. I love my name, but am so excited to change it to Gillian.
46. I hate the smell of vanilla, when people wear it as a perfume.
47. I love the smell of vanilla, when it is used as fragrance in the home.
48. I have never read a newspaper, all the way through.
49. I am scared of birds.
50. I hate stickers, but I am getting better with this one.
51. I am still amazed that I live where there are palm trees outside my windows.
52. NY green grass is my favorite.
53. I like to climb.
54. I have always wanted to go to Italy to learn how to cook from the professionals. (not that my mother isn't one)
55. November and December are my favorite times of the year. The smells of Thanksgiving and Christmas are what gets me through August.
56. December 23rd is my favorite day of the year. All the excitement of the year is coming together, and there is always someone who wants to have you over for Cookies and eggnog.
57. Jeffery Miller will always fill a special place in my heart.
58. Sometimes I try to make my NY accent stronger.
59. I have the tendency of sleeping through more movies than I would like to admit.
60. White cake with white frosting gets me everytime.
61. There is a small part of me who wants to sell everything that I own and move into a yurt, on a big green field, and raise babies who love the woods and can run wild all day long.
62. I got the nickname DJMAC in college because I know so many lyrics to so many songs. I sometimes think that my brain might go into overload because the lyrics take up too much space.
63. I no longer have cable and miss MTV. I know, I am too old for it, but I still miss it. (Laguna Beach, the Hills, Making the Band, Run's House... the list goes on)
64. I like to read magazines, even the garbage gossip ones like US weekly and People. When I moved to the new house, I threw away all the old ones. That was a definite step in the right direction.
65. My best friend from growing up was named Anne Marie Rotella, and I can't find her because she got married and I want to track her down online... someone help me.
66. Reefs and Havianas are my footwear of choice.
67. Cala lilies are my favorite flowers.
68. I always thought, as a small child, that I would be married by 18.
69. I am thankful for the last 9 years. (I am going to be 27)
70. I take the sun for granted. Sorry to all the northerners who don't get to feel it 95% of the year.
71. I sing really loud in the car.
72. I hate broken promises.
73. My favorite movie is the Sound of Music. I am a dork, and I embrace that. I think that it is my dad's favorite, too. I love that about him.
74. I used to say that I would drop out of school to play Leisel if the opportunity arose.
75. Slim makes me laugh so hard, and he loves that I laugh at his jokes, but I don't do it on purpose. The guy is funny.
76. I hope that I never write a 'family letter' at Christmas. I hate those, but always read them when they come in the cards.
77. I envy snow days, not for the snow, just for the day off.
78. Beverly Hills 90210 will always remain my favorite part of the 90s.
79. I buy things that i don't need, when they are on sale. Sometimes I don't even like them.
80. If there were mountains in Naples/Ft. Myers, I would say that this is the best place to live.


If you read that whole thing... thanks, it took a long time, but it was enjoyable, on my part anyway!

...be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

Slim and I go to San Francisco in 2.5 weeks. I cannot wait! The weather is going to be just perfect- highs in the 60s.

Don't get me wrong, living in SW Florida is really amazing, but it sure is warm.

We are going to Alcatraz, Carmel, Santa Cruz, Calistoga, and then spending the rest of our time in San Francisco. I am so excited!

Even though, it will be our honeymoon, I plan to blog while we are there, so you will have to stay tuned.

16 days.

Saturday's shower

Thanks to my sweet bridesmaids for throwing me a shower on Saturday. They all pictured above, minus my sister-in-law. Sadly, she couldn't make it.

From left to right:

Heather Longshore: Ever since I met Heather, I knew that we would be close friends. She has such a fun-loving spirit and is super encouraging. Heather married Jared at the beginning of June, and Slim and I both were blessed to be part of their wedding, and Jared and Heather will both be standing up for us, in less than three weeks!
Kari Colson: I met Kari through her daughter Paige. The first year I taught at FBA, Paige was in first grade, and needed a new tutor. Paige's teacher recommended me, and I tutored her since then. Kari and I just built a relationship over the past 4 years, and I love the relationship that we have. Kari's generous heart overflows with God's love, and I am blessed by her!
Abby Dattilo: Abby was my first real friend, when I moved to Naples. I knew that I loved her from the first night we spent hanging out, in Sarah Lyman Byrd's dining room. Abby has become more than a friend. She is my family, and has shared her family with me. I am so blessed to know her and am so glad that she is a part of my life. Abby is an awesome wife and mother- I definitely look up to her!
Tessa Mortensen: The bond that I have with Tessa goes so deep. She and her family are from Syracuse, just like I am, so we had an instant connection. Tess was in my first class at FBA, but she wasn't just a student, we became best of friends. Tessa is so wise for her years and I cannot believe how blessed I am to know her. There was no way that I was having a wedding without her being part of it!
Carly Jo Jones: Carly is my matron-of-honor, even though she hates that term because it makes her feel old. She is the best friend I could ever have asked for. She is someone who can speak truth into my life and tell me to snap out of it, when I am acting foolish. Her joy and humor is something that I have relied on countless times. When Car moved here, I kind of didn't give her an option on whether or not she wanted to be my friend. I just made her hang out with me. Her and her husband Kev are such great friends to Slim and me. They are both in our wedding and we love them dearly!
Lindsey Dorrill: Lindsey is one of the strongest people that I have ever met! I met Linds when she was going through a really difficult time in her life. She handled those situations with such grace, and continues to persevere through things that could easily be given up on. Lindsey is super creative with a big heart for people. I love her dearly!
Tara Mortensen: You guessed it, Tara and Tessa are sisters! Ha. Tara is growing into an amazing young woman of God. I am really proud of the steps that she is taking to chase hard after what God wants for her. I met Tara through her sister, and have worked with her in youth group since she was in 8th grade. She is now a senior who is dual enrolled in college. Tara is so much fun, and I am thrilled that she is going to be part of the big day!

Not pictured: Brandi McElheny Brandi, my sister-in-law, and dear friend, is an amazing woman. She has three children, two of which are living with her and my brother in Orlando, (Brayden and Gracie), and one who is still in Liberia, awaiting his adoption. Brandi has such a heart for relationships and loves people! I love her and am so glad that she is part of my life. Thanks for always being an encouragement, Bran!

icecream 'sundays'

For the past few months, Slim and I have had a tradition of going out for icecream on Sunday nights. There is a Twistee Treat right down from our house, and they have delicious soft serve and hard sugar free or fat free.

Not only is it delicious but the icecream stand is shaped like an icecream cone. What more could you ask for?

I didn't have a picture of it, so I googled it, and a picture of our actual one popped up! Here it is!

high school football and marching band

Last night, a bunch of the youth staff went out to the Estero High football game. I would like to tell all you readers that it was a shut-out by the wildcats, seeing that they were playing a school that has only been in existence for 1 week, but they still got clobbered. Sad but true.

The band however was great, considering they have only practiced togetber for a couple weeks now. Slim's sisters are both in the band, and are incredible musicians. Kelsey is a senior and marches the flute, and Haley is a sophomore and this year is in the drum pit. Great job, girlies.

While I was at the game, sitting in the 90 degree weather, I thought to myself, 'self, this surely does not feel like football.' There is something about going to a fall sport and sitting on the bleachers all snuggled in a blanket, drinking hot coffee, or cocoa, and enjoying the game. I have so many memories of Liverpool football games, or FHS soccer games when there was a bite in the air and everyone could see their breath. We wore mittens, and hoodies over layered clothes. Our cheeks were rosie from the wind. I am sure that we were cold, but that made it fun! Sweating and feeling sticky all night, not as much fun.

I can't wait to go to San Fran in 3 weeks. It is going to feel like fall! WAHOO!

Un-likely pairs

Watch this movie!



Even the least likely pairs can be friends.

Enjoy and be blessed!

it is going to be very official, in a few hours

It is true, in less then 3 hours, Slim and I will be receiving our marriage license. No turning back now:) Just kidding- I would never turn back. I love the man.

In order to get your marriage license they(some official people) make you read all about what would happen if you were to get a divorce. It is pretty awful that people head into marriage with the idea that if it doesn't work out, that it is ok to just get a divorce. Easy as that. It is sad really.

The wedding is coming, very soon. YEA!

sweet Slim

For those of you who don't know, the love of my life has been on a serious diet for some time now.

Here is a cute story about something that happened to him yesterday.

He stopped at Publix (our local grocery store that does not in any way compare to my first grocery store love- Wegman's) to pick up some salad for dinner. From far away he could see a little old woman waving him down. Once her got close they had the following discussion:

LOL (little old lady): You must be losing a lot of weight.
Slim: I am sorry ma'am, I am not sure where i know you from.
LOL: Oh honey, I don't know you from Adam, but you must be losing a lot of weight.
Slim: Well, yes ma'am, I am, but how did you know that.
LOL: Honey, I have seen you coming in here for years, and you are losing a lot of weight.
Slim: Oh
LOL: Yes, you used to be fat, but not anymore.

How cute is that? Definitely brought a smile to my face.

Here is a before picture of sweet Slim. He is in the Converse shirt and then at Heather and Jared's wedding.

some encouragement

So, I haven't been sleeping lately. Here are a few reasons why...

1. I get married in 25 days, and there is still a lot to do.
2. Work is crazy. I am trying to do all of my normal duties, plus we are becoming licensed to do home health, and I am working all those details out- like hundreds upon hundreds of state regs that need to be followed and forms that need to be processed. It is a lot of work.
3. I am trying to still live a normal life where I don't always think and talk about wedding junk. It will be a great day, but I need to keep in mind that it is just a day, and then I get to spend the rest of my life, with the man who I adore.
4. I feel like I am broke, and that always stresses me out.
5. I just always have the feeling that there is so much to do, but not enough time to do it all.

So here is my encouragement to myself, and I hope that it blesses you.

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

I need to remember that the Lord is my strength. Apart from Him, I can do nothing. I am turning things back over to Him, and I will take back the joy and give thanks!

I miss these faces...

That is it.

RUDE RUDE RUDE

Yesterday, I was very aware of the rude people in the world. Slim had a rude teller at the bank, and I had an experience that made my skin crawl all afternoon.

I called a to- go order in to Tijuana Flats (my fave Tex Mex) and I went to pick it up around 12:15. While I was walking in, a man walked in directly behind me, and the lady at the counter thought that we were together, but I informed her that I was just there to pick up an order.

I was paying for my order when a kind young worker approached the man who was standing behind me. This man was standing reading the menu.

Here is how the conversation went...

TF employee: Welcome to Tijuana Flats. Have you ever been here before?
Man who walked in behind me: No
TF employee: Do you have any questions about the menu?
Man who walked in behind me: (in a yelling tone) Well if you would just let me read, I would know if I had any questions!

The entire restaurant went quiet and felt so bad for the employee who was doing his job. I wanted to scream at the man.

WHY ARE PEOPLE SO RUDE? If you have someone in your life, who can be this way, please encourage them to think about the big picture, and to be kind... it goes much further!

Summit Syracuse

For all of my darling loves that are reading, from the CNY region. Please check out...

www.summitsyracuse.com

If you live there, please hit it up. I don't know when the official opening is, but I do know that there are planning meetings already in the works.

Jordan Stinziano, a Syracuse native is taking his family back to where he is from to fight for the hearts of every man, woman, and child in the cuse.

He is taking Jim Murphy with him. Jim and his family are dear friends of Slim's and have become dear to me as well. The Murphys will head to the Cuse right after Jim stands up for Slim, at our wedding.

God is good, and He is more than able to help this dying city. Get on board...

a fun weekend

This past weekend was very eventful, thus there was no time to blog... Here is the quick re-cap.

On Friday night, Slim came over, after work, and we both fell asleep for an hour or so, and woke up starving. We decided that we ought to go and grab a quick dinner. We hit up 'Nino's Thick and Thin'. After that I had to drop Slim off to "Guy's Night In" at Brandon and Alaina's house. (basically an excuse for the teenage boys and their leaders to get together to play video games) I left and as soon as I did, Alaina got home and called me back over, because she was the only girl. It was a nice time to sit and chat with Alaina about her plans for the start of her first school year, in her own actual classroom. She took a job teaching at FBA, the school which brought be to South West Florida. I left their house at around 11:30 or so and headed back home to sleep.

Saturday morning, came bright and early. We were going to have breakfast with the Joneses, and I had to hit up Target before we went there. It was a delicious meal with a lot of laughter, and delicious food. You can read about it at Carly's site. http://www.makingartagain.blogspot.com/

We had a lot of errands to do in the afternoon. We hit up the tux shop (we are always planning. We are a month away- there is still a bunch to do.) Then we went to Slim's office because he is working on a restaurant branding, and that means a lot of meetings. We rushed home because I had to make Carly's cake. It looked like this... before the drive to the Bidwell's, but the humidity made it crack with a crack that looked like Harry's scar.

We had a full on birthday party for Miss Car Car, which ended with her having a crick in her neck from too much deep sea volleyball. It was a blast, though.

On Sunday morning, I had church, and then Slim and I grabbed lunch at Target. Much to our surprise, one of Slim's students was also getting lunch there (I see this kid everywhere I go. There are some people that I see like 4 or 5 times per month, just randomly, and others who I never run in to.) Also, our dear friends the Joneses happened to be having lunch there, too, and we honestly didn't know.

After lunch, we popped home to take the Dude out, and then went to our second birthday party of the weekend. Slim's sister-in-law, Amanda turns 22 today, and we had a surprise party for her last night. She was quite surprised. It was sweet.

A lot of words... sorry to bore you.

Check it out

The Slim*Line site is finally up and running.

Check it out.


www.slimlinedotcom.com

My babe is pretty much amazing.

Hooray for more soon-to-be 'married friends'

Yes, this pic was taken a while ago, and not by me, but I do love both of the people, very much, and I am proud to announce that they are engaged. (there were a whole lot of commas in that last sentence) I am not sure what time it happened, but Slim called me at like 12:30 am to let me know, and then I received a text from Lauren at 1:10, so it must have been late last night.

Congratulations Billy and Lauren (soon to be) Vecchio! Come home now, so we can celebrate!

Oh the wonders of the world wide web

We lived in the same place, we ate in the same place, we walked the same roads, and halls, but it took the internet for us to ever meet.

Introducing Liana. She went to Houghton for a year while I was there. She was an RA in the dorm, where I lived. We had classes in the same buildings, and ate food in the same cafeteria, but she found my blog. Now find hers.

Fun new friend.

I tasted the food, and it was good

Last night, Slim and I met with Amy for a food tasting.

For those of you coming to the wedding, you are going to love the food. At first, I was pretty much sure that I didn't want a buffet, but when I thought about the fact that the guests would then have 3 main entrees to choose from, or have all of, my decision was clear.

Time is ticking away. We stopped by our jewelrs home, and dropped off my engagement ring last night. He is going to be making me a band. It should be done by the end of the week. I am so excited about that.

Tonight we meet with the wedding coordinator... BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Friday we go to start tux orders.

This wedding planning stuff is for the birds:)

38 days!

photo shoot aka Diva Night

Setting: Friday, August 3rd, 2007, My house

Here is the scene...

At about 2pm, Kim arrived at my house to set up some food for an event that would prove to be something that I will never forget. 5 makeup artists came to do high fashion makeup for Ashley to photograph. At one point there were 30 people in my small house, getting their make up done and awaiting their chance to have their pictures taken by THE Ashley Brockinton.

Ashley had it all scheduled so that she would be shooting the final person at no later than 8 pm. Well let's just say that I went last but didn't have my pictures taken until 12:30 am on Saturday. It was such a blast, though. Now there were a few girls who were taking on the 'diva' attitude and complaining about the wait, maybe they seemed to forget that they weren't paying for the makeup or the photo shoot.

In the next couple of days, some of them will be posted on Ashley's blog. Be sure to check them out.

www.ashleybrockintonblog.com

Hooray for Mac makeup and delicious cherries.

Check out my map

There are people reading all over the world. I would love it if you would let me know who you are and where you are located. Pop me a comment and let me know.

Dude had an adventure.

As many of your know. This is our sweet Dog Dude aka Dudetronicsita. I am pretty much in love with him. He is a protector and a good pal.

Yesterday, Dude and I were outside playing with tennis balls around 5 pm. He was racing all over the backyard, and just having a blast. When we play catch. He will go and retreive the ball and bring it back to me, but won't let me take it from him, thus we have to have three or four balls going at the same time. After a rousing game, I needed to head back in to get things ready for when Slim and Kelsey got there to eat dinner. Now for a little background information- we have a large fenced in backyard. The fence is a 6 foot wooden fence. It has a few small spots that a tiny dog would fit under, but our Dude could never sneak underneath it. Since I moved in, I have let Dude play in the backyard, and he had no problem at all.

Ok, now back to the story. So about 10 minutes had gone by, and I decided that I had better go and bring Dude in as, he would definitely be in need of a drink. I walked out into the backyard, and started calling him, but he was no where to be found. Then I thought to myself, maybe he followed me in, and is hanging somewhere inside. Nope, not inside. Now I started to panic. I jetted out the front door to see my sweet Dudetronic sniffing the weeds at the neighbors house. I was like "Dude, come here baby", and that is when his adventure began. He darted as fast as he could running in and out of yards, across streets, in front of cars, behind houses and down streets. He would let me get like a foot away and then would jet. Stinker.

I followed him down this one small street and there was a little boy hanging out of an upstairs window yelling "your dog is visiting my house, your dog is visiting my house." (imagine that spoken with a lisp) Still I couldn't grab the sweet boy. Luckily, in the time that I was out chasing the dog around, Slim and Kelsey arrived home. Slim got the car and followed me. Slim pulled onto the road where I had followed Dude, and opened his car door and called the Dude to him. Dude went and just as he was going to dip away again, Slim grabbed him by his bandana, and pulled him into the car. Dude yelped, but was safe again in the comfort of the his family.

When we got him back home, he layed underneath the dining room table and panted hard. It is hot in the summer sun. It wore him right out. Until we patch the places in the fence, Dude will have to be on a leash- sad, but true. I need him to stick around for a while.

Happy Birthday, Mamma Joe!

Happy 27th birthday, Joette Richardson. I love you very much! Joette is the cutie one in the blueish green top. This was a few years back, but she is still as beautiful today. Mamma, can't wait to see you in a month and a half.